A 53-year-old grandmother, who says she usually doesn’t believe in suing, is suing Verizon Wireless for allegedly causing her to have a heart attack with bad customer service.
Angela Hawkins of Chesapeake is suing the telecom for $2.35 million after she says a customer service call turned ugly. Hawkins claims she called Verizon to discuss a missing $60 credit and after 20 minutes of taking to the customer service rep she was transferred to a supervisor. Apparently, the supervisor accused Hawkins of threatening his rep and quickly took thing to 11.
From the Virginian-Pilot:
When the supervisor came on the line, the lawsuit said, he indicated that Hawkins had threatened his employee and that he was calling the police.
Hawkins said she was shocked anyone would say something like that about her. She felt lightheaded and quickly got off the phone and sat on her couch. She talked to her husband about what happened and checked her blinds several times in anticipation of police cars.
Jeffrey Brooke, Hawkins’ attorney, said the threat of arrest really shook his client.
“She had visions of SWAT guys breaking her door down and putting her in leg shackles,” he said.
But no SWAT arrived, and Hawkins claims the supervisor later called to apologize. The next day, Hawkins went to the doctor, had an EKG, and was told she’d had a heart attack. She was subsequently admitted to the hospital and had a stint placed in her heart.
Apparently, her medical bills plus future medication costs total around $180,000. The rest of the lawsuit is for “infliction of emotional distress.”
Verizon has its fair share of customer service problems, but aren’t you a little surprised that this story isn’t about Comcast?
Image via M.O. Stevens, Wikimedia Commons
